U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin yesterday secured funding and bipartisan support to promote dairy business innovation activities included in her Dairy Business Innovation Act. This effort will support dairy product innovation and provide resources to help cheesemakers and other dairy businesses get their start, develop new products and expand markets.
Baldwin introduced her bipartisan amendment with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and it was debated on the Senate floor Wednesday to include a $7 million investment for dairy businesses in the Fiscal Year 2019 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The amendment passed 83-15.
“Wisconsin’s dairy businesses are a key driver of our state’s economy, but recently our dairy farmers have faced very challenging times with an oversupply of milk and low milk prices. It’s critical that farmers, cheesemakers and dairy processors have tools to innovate and develop new Made in Wisconsin dairy products to build a brighter future for our dairy farms and drive our rural economy forward,” said Senator Baldwin.“I’m proud to have secured this funding to create new initiatives and expand resources for our dairy businesses to foster innovation, improve their manufacturing practices and reach new markets so Wisconsin’s dairy industry can continue to lead the nation.”
Senator Baldwin introduced the Dairy Business Innovation Act in June to establish regional initiatives to spur innovation in dairy businesses to help increase value to the milk farmers produce and expand uses for milk to address oversupply and depressed milk prices. The legislation was included in the 2018 Senate Farm Bill that passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Watch Senator Baldwin speak on the Senate floor on this bipartisan amendment.
More information about the Dairy Business Innovation Act is available here.
